Opinion category, Page 13
Letter to the editor: Replacing lead pipes critical to health
As business manager of the Western Pennsylvania Operating Engineers Local 66, I’m proud to have our members replacing old and potentially dangerous lead pipes in the Pittsburgh Region. It’s easy to take for granted basic necessities like clean air, drivable roads and safe water. One such example is aging lead...
Editorial: Pennsylvania’s Act 111 does not protect good policing
Police enforce accountability — sometimes through arrests, sometimes through simply maintaining order. It is understandable that the public expects police to be accountable as well. It is confusing to have the law stand in the way of that. If an officer is fired for some kind of abuse of power,...
Jason Anthony: Google search ruling a win for small businesses in Pa., across country
This fall, after a years-long antitrust battle, a federal judge rejected the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request that he force Google to break apart its integrated search tools. Many high-profile commentators called the decision a disappointment, but I saw it as a major win for small businesses. Let me explain....
Danny Tyree: Can we talk sensibly about Veterans Day
“Write something sensible.” I’m finishing this column on the first anniversary of my mother’s passing, and I can still hear her cajoling me to cater to her down-to-earth tastes. Her funny bone was unpretentious. She could laugh at pratfalls on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” or a tyke’s witticisms on “Kids...
Mark Z. Barabak: Nancy Pelosi prided herself on cold calculation. She knew it was time.
When Nancy Pelosi first ran for Congress, she was one of 14 candidates, the front-runner and a target. At the time, Pelosi was little known to San Francisco voters. But she was already a fixture in national politics. She was a major Democratic fundraiser who helped lure the party’s 1984...
Letter to the editor: Where the heck is the tech?
Where the heck is the tech? I’m sick and tired of hearing, “We take the safety of our students and community very seriously,” or some variation on this theme.” So, why are children still getting molested in schools, people and police getting stabbed and shot in our streets and unlighted...
Letter to the editor: Trump flip-flops on Constitution
You could not make this up: Our president called upon Pennsylvania voters to reject the retention of state Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, asserting that he was asking this of Keystone State citizens in order to “bring back the rule of law and stand up...
Editorial: Pittsburgh’s new mayor must be the bridge to what’s next
Pittsburgh’s mayor needs to be like the city — full of bridges. The mayor has to find a way to cross deep, perilous financial waters. The mayor has to span the chasm between the needs of residents and the demands of business. The mayor has to travel from the promises...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 10
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 10....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 10
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 10....
Letter to the editor: Government should prohibit dangerous medications
Your newspaper reported Teva is selling blood-pressure drugs in America that contain carcinogens (“Blood pressure medication recalled over carcinogen,” Nov. 1); that is to say that they cause cancer. It is not the first time our U.S. Food and Drug Administration has caught Teva’s medical products subjecting our citizens to...
Letter to the editor: The penny problem — don’t keep the change
The demise of the penny is most likely going to cause a financial burden on the consumer. The government decided to eliminate minting the penny, as the metal and labor used in the coin exceeded the value of the coin. The solution? Rounding to the nearest nickel. Problem solved! Well,...
Letter to the editor: A new life for Penn State New Kensington
Two years from now, the Penn State New Kensington campus will be shuttered. No suggestions for its conversion have been made public, but one that recognizes demographic reality and requires no drastic structural change does exist. In 1975, Burrell and Valley graduated nearly 900 students combined. The combined 2025 graduating...
Editorial: The curse of cross-filing
Do you even remember a judicial election? In all the time you’ve been a voter — making choices and casting ballots — do you ever recall a campaign for a Pennsylvania judge at any level? Probably not. In Pennsylvania, judicial elections typically have been the blunt side of partisanship. Presidential,...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Trump continues to play hunger games
The international community, at least since World War II and most recently in a 2018 U.N. resolution, has condemned using food as a weapon in conflicts. But that has not stopped President Donald Trump from effectively denying SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans. Trump posted on Truth Social this past...
Rev. Richard Cizik: Good Christians can disagree with Trump
“If I am not for myself, then who will be there for me? And if I am for myself only, who am I? And if not now, when?” These words from the famous Rabbi Hillel the Elder guided Jewish life at the time of King Herod. Now, they represent a...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: NBA quality players on a college team are not sufficient to make noise in the NCAA Tournament
A new college basketball season is beginning. For every team, their 30-plus schedule of games is certain to produce some surprises. Yet every fan hopes their team will have what it takes to make some noise in March. Rankings are certainly informative. But is there a more reliable way to...
Christine Flowers: Malala’s message should echo to the White House
There are a few people in the world who are instantly recognizable with just one name: Madonna, Beyonce and Rihanna come to mind, as do fellow performers Cher, Elvis, Prince, Bono and Sting. The same is true for Malala. I have known about this brave young woman from the moment...
Martin Schram: Dick Cheney — reflecting on the unseen
The president’s chief of staff was talking with aides outside his president’s waiting motorcade when he spotted me — and immediately began walking purposefully toward me for what figured to be one of those tough, and probably angry, confrontations. Reporters know we can expect that when what we have written...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh nonprofits should help city with emergency vehicles
I have a suggestion for the new mayor of Pittsburgh: There are a number of large nonprofit organizations in the city of Pittsburgh, with UPMC and AGH being two of the largest. I saw on the local news the deplorable conditions of Pittsburgh emergency vehicles, including police vehicles and ambulances,...
Letter to the editor: Maduro bounty not justice
The United States offers a $15 million bounty for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture, claiming we want him to face justice for drug trafficking. But this bounty reveals a troubling contradiction: It can’t be collected through legitimate law enforcement. Maduro won’t voluntarily travel to countries that would extradite him. He’s...
Letter to the editor: Democrats have nothing but attacking Trump
Seeking election to a public office? Looking for political credibility? Are you a Democrat? No problem: Attack the Orange Monster! Health care for illegal immigrants? Insist that President Trump is against affordable health care. ICE deportation of migrant criminals? Insist that Trump’s Gestapo is rounding up “fathers, husbands and hard-working...
Editorial: Voters chose confidence in election machines
The voters of Westmoreland County were clear when they showed up at the polls. They picked a side. They made a choice. They went with the voting machines. In September, the county’s Republican commissioners approved a $40,000 plan to add optional paper ballots for the November election, citing a 2024...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s actions show who he is
President Trump likes to say he is a law-and-order president. It justifies his militarizing our streets, sending federal law enforcement to cities that don’t want or need those troops, and spending about $28 billion annually on ICE agents who act like thugs and terrorize our fellow citizens and human beings....
Letter to the editor: No pay for Congress during shutdown
The resolution introduced Oct. 29 by Sen. Lindsay Graham should be brought before committee and voted on immediately. The resolution proposes “an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring Members of Congress to forfeit their compensation during Government shutdowns.” This is a critical piece of legislation because it...
